Bowen seeks indemnity costs against Robinson
Published:Friday | September 24, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
Lawyers representing Manley Bowen, the elector who brought the dual-citizenship case against Member of Parliament Shahine Robinson, have applied for indemnity costs to be awarded against her.
Indemnity costs are usually awarded against litigants who deceive the court or abuse the process of the court. The application is to be heard on October 4 in the Supreme Court.
If Bowen is successful in his application, the indemnity costs will be substantially higher than his legal costs.
On Wednesday, Supreme Court judge Roy Jones struck out Robinson's defence and affidavit on the grounds that they were an abuse of the process of the court.
Jones awarded legal costs to Bowen, who had brought the election petition against Robinson, who won the seat for the Jamaica Labour Party in the North East St Ann constituency.
The seat was not declared vacant Wednesday because there are certain procedures to be followed in law before that can be done. The parties are to return to court on October 4.
Bowen had filed the petition claiming that Robinson was an American citizen when she was nominated for the September 3, 2007 general election and so was not entitled to sit in Parliament.
Following several court dates in the matter, last week Thursday Robinson announced that she was not challenging the petition and was ordered by Jones to file the notice of her intention the next day.
The registrar of the Supreme Court on Monday sent the notice to be gazetted in accordance with Section 15 of the Election Petition Act. The section states that within 14 days after the notice has been gazetted another person can apply to be admitted as a respondent.
Attorneys-at-law Abe Dabdoub and Raymond Clough are representing Bowen.